What Doesn't Kill You
by DejectedBlithe
Summary: Since finishing her journey in the past, Kagome faces an uncertain future. But when an old acquaintance of her father drops by, she suddenly finds herself attending True Cross Academy. Stuck dealing with demons and a past that won't stay where it belongs, trouble seems to be her best friend. Luckily for her, she's always been a resilient type of girl.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Chapter One**

* * *

Higurashi Kagome glanced uneasily at the huge school before her, True Cross Academy. A school she wanted nothing to do with. Nervously she fiddled with the strap of her yellow messenger bag. She could sense a torrent of demonic energies before her and it sent a chill up her spine.

She wasn't ready for this.

"Aww, Kagome-chan, glad to see you finally arrive."

She rolled her eyes and looked down to see a small, Scottish terrier by her feet wearing a ridiculous bow.

"Mephisto," she coolly stated, frowning. She hadn't even sensed the damned demon approach her.

"Now don't be like that. I had to pull quite a bit of strings to get you in here, you know. Especially so late in the semester."

"Not like I wanted to come here in the first place." Came her automatic response, before vehemently adding, "And what do you mean pull strings. You're the one who's in charge of the school."

"Details, details," he carelessly waved a paw. "Now come along and I'll show you to your dorm. Class is almost over for the day, so you will be starting tomorrow. But you are still expected to show up to cram school tonight."

"Can't I just skip that too?"

"Absolutely not but since I'm such a nice guy, I will even overlook your lack of proper uniform."

Kagome looked down at her clothes. She didn't find much wrong with she was wearing. She had on the girl's sweater, but without the tie. And in place of the pleated skirt, she wore the boy's slacks. And a pale yellow beanie held her bangs back. If she was going to be fighting demons, she may as well be comfortable.

She muttered lowly under her breath, "Whatever."

He seemed not to hear her and trotted quickly ahead of her and started the tour of the school. He mentioned a few of the important buildings she would need to know. She quickly fell in step behind him.

Mephisto watched his newest student with a sly smile. His plans were going even better than he had hoped. The Higruashi's had been prominent Exorcists, and he was sure she would live up to her family's reputation.

* * *

She was late. That damned demon hadn't bothered to show her, let alone tell her which room class would be held. He had just thrown her a key and taken off.

After a few failed attempts she was about to call it a night. Let them punish her, maybe if she was lucky she would get kicked out.

Huffing in annoyance after taking another dead end, she was about to head to her new room, when she decided to take out the key. It was pretty normal looking as far of keys went, but there was something… off with it.

Sighing tiredly, she decided to try it on the next door she saw. She felt stupid even bothering to attempt, but to her surprise the key easily fit. She turned it and the door opened.

She found herself in the doorway of a small classroom. There were only a handful of students, and the instructor, who looked to be her age, was giving her a weird look. In fact, they all were.

Turning red, Kagome timidly spoke, "Uh, hello."

The instructor flashed her a polite smile. "Can I help you with something?"

"This is the Exorcist cram school right?"

"Yes it is. I'm sorry but who are you exactly? We were not expecting anyone?"

Kagome cursed in her head. That demon hadn't even let them know that she was coming.

"Sorry about that, I'm Kagome and I am supposed to be joining this class."

His eyes widened. "I wasn't aware of a new student."

"Must have slipped my mind," Mephisto remarked, having appeared seemingly out of thin air.

"Bastard," Kagome muttered under her breath.

Having heard her insult, he merely laughed and condescendingly patted her head. "Kagome-chan will make a fine addition to his class. She's already an Exwire."

And with that he was gone, leaving her surrounded in a class full of curious looks and a few hostile stares.

Yukio cleared his throat. "It's a pleasure to meet you uh…"

"Kagome, just Kagome."

"Okay, Kagome-san. My name is Okumura Yukio and I will be your instructor. Class, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourselves and your area of specialization."

One of the boys in back, the one who had been glaring at her went first.

"I'm Suguro Ryuji, Aria."

The ones sitting next to him went next, then the girls. The only one who didn't bother was some kid from the back. They all seemed pretty interesting though, even if the pink haired boy had hit on her.

"And what about you Kagome-san? What kind of exorcist do you aim for?"

Kagome carelessly shrugged her shoulders. She had, had no interest in becoming an Exorcist and had thought her demon days were long over. Even before then, when her grandfather nagged her about following in her father's steps, she had always been reluctant to do so.

"Dunno. Haven't given it much thought really."

Kagome ignored the sudden outburst from the punk looking kid and took a seat in the front row, away from everyone else.

They didn't do much in class that night. Merely went over basic demonology (well she thought it was basic), and first aid responses against demon attacks and infections.

Class ended with a quiz which she gave a quick once over and promptly turned over in favor of doodling on the back. She heard the rooster head mutter some insult at her, but she paid him no mind.

"Ok class that's it for tonight. Please hand in your quiz on the way out the door," Yukio ordered before adding, "And Kagome-san, if you could stay behind for a moment.

Kagome waited until the last person had exited the room before she made her way to the front.

"Kagome-san, I understand that this is your first day here, but if you could please put in a bit more effort. Becoming an Exorcist is not a game."

She nodded her head. She may not actually want to be an Exorcist, but there was no turning back now.

"Sure thing Okumura-sensei," she breezily replied as she handed him her quiz and took off.

Shaking his head, Yukio glanced down at her paper, expecting to see nothing but blanks. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that each question had been answered with a neat scrawl. On further inspection he saw that each answer was correct.

He would have to keep a closer eye on his newest student.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Kagome couldn't believe she was going to be late again.

The rest of her week had gone by semi-smoothly, though they had, had a series of substitutes after her first day at cram school. And that dammed demon Mephisto had appeared suddenly last night in class, and now they were assigned to some mission in Kyoto.

Racing through the station, Kagome barely made it onto the train before it took off. Sighing in relief, she quickly paled when she saw that she had interrupted the mission briefing. Grinning sheepishly, she muttered a quick apology and hastily made her way towards the rest of her classmates, who all seemed rather surly.

They were an interesting bunch to say the least. The blond came off as mostly timed and miserable, and the purpled haired girl just seemed like she had an attitude problem. The three monks mainly stuck to themselves (when the rooster head wasn't trying to start a fight with her for not being "serious enough"). And the second year acted like they were all beneath him.

Seemingly oblivious to the tension, Kagome quickly spotted an empty seat next to some half-demon she had not yet met.

Smiling brightly, she took the seat and introduced herself, "Hey, haven't met you yet. I'm the new student, Kagome."

He seemed stunned for a moment, but quickly perked up. "Hey, I'm Okumura Rin."

Nodding her head, she decided to ignore the thickening tension and watch the scenery flash by.

She hadn't been to Kyoto in years, not since her father had still been alive. Back when she was younger, he and her grandfather were always taking her along with them to various temple visits and Kyoto had been a frequent stop.

She was snapped back to the present by loud yelling.

"Who did you say was a coward, huh?"

Kagome looked up to see Bon towering over Rin and Izumo.

"Hmm. Then what do you call yourselves then," she condescendingly replied.

"You bitch!"

Before Kagome knew it they were all being punished.

"All of you get the baryon punishment," Shura announced a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

Groaning, Kagome sat at the end, behind the second year with the puppet. There was something suspicious about the weight in her lap.

"Wow, we haven't progressed at all," Renzo nervously chuckled, his feeble attempt at dispelling the heavy atmosphere.

"What's the deal with you guys anyway? Thought y'all were supposed to be a team," Kagome asked.

Bon shot her a nasty glare.

"More importantly, why did sensei leave Okumura-kun like that? If anything happens…It'd be dangerous," Konekomaru suddenly exclaimed, ignoring her.

"Konekomaru," Rin muttered, hurt.

Kagome's eyes narrowed as a sudden spike in demonic energy filled the room.

Konekomaru's weight shot up and landed on Shiemi. Kagome sat back with the second year student and watched as everyone attempted to pry off the weight. She ignored the pang in her heart when she saw Renzo's staff.

When the monks failed, Kagome was about to intervene when Rin stepped up. She soon learned why everyone was so weary of him. Blue flames flared up around the half-demon, surrounding him. A chill tinkled down her spine but Kagome ignored it. The blue flames were not harming anyone, simply increasing Rin's strength.

She caught Bon attempting to stop him. Kagome swiftly intervened and grabbed him before he could throw off Rin's concentration.

The flames made quick work of the baryons.

Bon wrestled out of her grasp and confronted the half-demon.

"Those blue flames can kill people!

Kagome would've stuck up for Rin if she didn't read the signs. They needed to let whatever was bothering them out.

"Boys," Kagome lowly muttered, going mostly unnoticed. While the rest of the class watched on, Kagome suddenly felt another flare up of energy headed straight for Bon. Acting fast, she pushed the monk out of the way as she grabbed a sutra from her pocket. She easily flung it at the weight, destroying it instantly.

"Jeez. When the real deal comes along, you guys plan to hamper each other like that, too? You'll die," Shura scolded them, her sharp gaze lingering on Kagome.

She ignored the older Exorcist and followed her classmates off the train.

* * *

Kyoto was exactly as she remembered it, dull.

"What did you say about our home," Bon demanded, making a swipe for the collar of her shirt.

She easily dodged and chose to stand closer to Rin. Everyone was still avoiding him. So as they boarded the bus, she took the available seat next to him. He shot her a funny look, as if he had expected her to start avoiding him.

"I don't care you know," she quietly spoke and she didn't. After surviving for so long in the Feudal Era, she prided herself on being a good judge of character. And Rin definitely was a good guy, son of Satan or not.

Some of the tension in his shoulders melded away and he gave her a small smile. "Thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Thanks for the reviews and follows ^_^

**Chapter Three**

* * *

The tension was still pretty thick by the time they reached the ryokan they would be staying at. But luckily they were all pretty distracted by the sight of all the workers excited greeting Bon, who was just as surly and rankled as ever, making Kagome wonder if he had any other setting.

The owner of the ryokan, a familiar, kindly middle aged woman, politely greeted her guests and welcomed them to the ryokan. She seemed like a mild mannered woman until she spotted Bon. Her personality took a drastic one-eighty as she rounded on the monk.

"Ryuji, you actually went and dyed your hair huh! You wanna turn into a chicken or something next," she angrily reprimanded him

At that Kagome and Renzo started to snicker while the others else looked on, confused.

Bon's mother finally took notice of the other guests with her son. "Neko-chan, Renzo, it's good to see that you're both well. It must have been tiring protecting Ryuji."

"Actually it was Kagome-san who was protecting Bon," Renzo chuckled, earning a sharp look from Bon.

"Kagome-san," Ryuji's mother repeated, quietly to herself. The name did sound familiar but before she could ask, Bon started to yell again.

"Don't make it sound like they were protecting me, especially that slacker," Bon shouted.

Completely ignoring her rampaging son, she bowed to her guests. "Oh dear, how terrible of me. Pleased to meet you, I'm Ryuji's mother."

"Eh? But isn't Bon's home the temple that got destroyed," Rin interjected.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at that. She hadn't known that Bon came from a temple home.

Switching back to her polite persona, Bon's mother answered the half-demon. "That's right. Even though our temple couldn't hold out, I took over this ryokan which was my own family home."

"As it turns out, you really were the Bon-Bon of a ryokan," Izumo added, also snickering.

"No wonder they call you Bon." Kagome said in between giggles.

"I can still hear you guys you know," he yelled.

Shura spoke up, making her presence and their mission once again known. She ordered the three Kyoto natives to visit their relatives, while Kagome and the others got to assist the wounded. Well only her and the other two girls. Rin was given different, more minimal tasks that Kagome suspected was just to get him out of the way.

Kagome volunteered to start picking herbs. It was a familiar task for her, one that would give her ample time to think and some much needed time to herself. Though Rin certainly was friendlier than the others, there was still that disconnect between her and the others. One she did not feel like fixing.

She sighed dejectedly as she pulled a few more plants. She wondered what her friends would think of her now. Being too scared to even try to get along with her classmates, InuYasha would definitely call her a coward.

It didn't take her long to get lost in her methodical work and her thoughts, and before she knew it she had lost track of the time.

The sound of footsteps broke her from her trance. The timid blond was standing by the gate, staring intently at a slip of paper.

Kagome wondered if she knew she was there.

"I'm so useless."

The way the girl said it pulled at something within her. And before she knew what she was doing, Kagome reached out.

"I doubt you're useless."

The blond jumped, tripped, and fell to her knees.

Kagome quickly dropped the plants she had been picking and rushed to her side.

"Are you alright. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Kagome hastily apologized, helping the other girl up.

"I-it's alright. It was my fault for not noticing you," she replied, accepting her help.

"Sorry, but I've forgotten your name," Kagome sheepishly admitted.

"Oh, that's okay. We haven't been really welcoming. I'm Shiemi Moriyama."

Kagome smiled and replied, "Well Shiemi-san, why do you think you're useless?"

The blond started to shed tears again, sending Kagome into a panic.

"Ni-chan won't come out because I'm so weak!"

"Ano, why don't you start from the beginning," Kagome asked as she placed a comforting arm around the other girl's shoulder.

Shiemi cried, "I just wanted to be of help to everyone. And Rin and Yuki-chan wouldn't tell me anything, even though it was something so important!"

Kagome still had no clue what she was talking about, and she doubted she would be able to get much else out of the upset girl.

"Well, the fact that you want to help shows that you're not useless," Kagome attempted to soothe the girl. "And whatever your friends were hiding, I'm sure they had a good reason for it. They probably just thought they were doing what they felt was right, not that they didn't trust you."

"You think so," she sniffled.

Kagome smiled and nodded her head. "Yep, trust me on this. You just need to have a little faith in yourself and your friends."


End file.
